HTC’s newest inexpensive Android smartphone, dubbed Desire 510, is far from a looker or powerhouse, yet it may just make more headlines than, say, the One M8 for Windows, as it offers LTE connectivity and 64-bit processing speed on the very cheap.

While searching for a “hero” device to put the company back on the global mobile map next to the currently undefeated heavyweight champ Samsung, HTC realized razzle dazzle flagships aren’t enough to turn a profit, let alone propel it at the top of the worldwide ranks.

So instead of betting all the chips on the high-end One line, the Taiwanese basically split their resources between spearheads and the humbler Desire family. The latter actually started competing with affordable rivals from Sammy, LG or Sony’s camps when the 610 and 816 saw daylight, and now the 510 bolsters this growingly impressive low to mid-end portfolio further.

Trumpeted as the cheapest 4G LTE-enabled HTC ever, the Desire 510 is slated for bows in “selected regions in Europe and Asia as well as through select carriers in the US” beginning next month. No exact timetable is available, and specific price points for specific regions remain under wraps for the moment too.

But we know the modest 4.7 incher is headed for Sprint, Boost Mobile, Virgin and Cricket stateside, so its ambitions aren’t so very meek after all. Which makes perfect sense given the Desire 510 is a pioneer of sorts in the Android landscape, packing a 64-bit 1.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor.

What’s bizarre is HTC doesn’t seem to view that as a key selling point, neglecting to mention it even in a pithy footnote, instead spending an awful lot of time boasting about LTE download speeds, a polycarbonate chassis that “looks and feels great” and premium software (Android 4.4 with HTC Sense).

There’s nothing premium about the FWVGA display, I’m afraid, and the 5 MP non-flash-supporting rear camera and VGA front snapper look outright cringe worthy on paper. The 2,100 mAh battery, 1 GB RAM and expandable 8 gigs of internal storage aren’t horrible… I guess, so all in all, the HTC Desire 510 can be quite the blockbuster at the right price.

SGCafe.com

Anime director, Tatsuki, has done a lot for the Kemono Friends franchise. He raised it from a cancelled mobile game by Nexon to one of 2017’s biggest runaway hits. However, his achievements don’t seem to be enough, as the director has tweeted that he’s no longer with the Kemono Friends anime project. 突然ですが、けものフレンズのアニメから外れる事になりました。ざっくりカドカワさん方面よりのお達しみたいです。すみません、僕もとても残念です —...